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Cooy I 




REV. MR. VANARSDALE'S DISCOURSES 



OF 

PRESIDENT HARRISON, 



NATIONAL FAST. 




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LESSONS OF WISDOM FOR A MOURNING PEOPLE. 



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A DISCOURSE 



THE DEATH 



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IPISSSIEIDMKfl^ HAMIEHS© 



PRONOUNCED ON THE EVENING OF 



APRIL 20, 1841, 



THE DAY OF PUBLIC FUNERAL SOLEMNITIES. 



CORNELIUS C. VANARSDALE, 

Pastor of the First Reformed Dutch Church, Pliiladelphia. 



(published by request.) 



— r^f^d^J^^^ ^^^^^4^^'i*^ r' — I — j-> 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED BY JOHN C. CLARK, GO DOCK STREET. 

1841. 



d%0^ 



The following Discourses were intended only for the Congregation 
before whom they were pronounced, without the thought of their ever 
appearing in print. In complying, therefore, with the request of those 
who have asked them for the press, that they may be read and retained 
by them, the author is influenced only by the desire to gratify their 
wishes, and will be happy, if, in any degree, he thereby promotes their 
pleasure or their welfare. 



DISCOURSE. 



1 Sam. xi. 5. 
" What aileth the people that they weep ■?" 

To those who are truly kind and benevolent, every 
indication of human sorrow is an object of interest. 
The sob of grief from the lowliest dwelling falls not on 
their ears without striking corresponding chords in their 
hearts, and awakening emotions of generous sympathy. 
Even the tear which trembles on the cheek of the little 
wanderer, passing along with lonely and sad steps 
through our thronged streets, is not unmarked by such; 
and, prompted by the workings of a noble spirit, the 
question is heard — " what aileth thee, child, that thou 
dost weep?" If such is the effect of the comparatively 
trifling and every-day scenes of life — if the grief which 
presses upon a single family, or a single heart, inspires 
such interest, what must be the effect on a benevolent 
mind, of beholding vast multitudes clothed in the gar- 
ments of mourning, and of hearing, from a mighty na- 
tion, the bursting forth of a deep and universal sorrow? 
Where is the generous heart then, which hath not been 
warmed with the most tender sympathy by the scenes 
which have lately passed before us — by the evidences 
of a nation's wo, with which we arc even now sur- 
rounded ! 



What fearful calamity has occurred, that those mourn- 
ful lamentations are heard in the very Capitol of our 
great republic ? Why is it, as those flying messengers 
start forth in all directions from the seat of government, 
that they spread such consternation and sorrow in their 
path? What are those gloomy tidings which they bear 
with heavy hearts, and speak with trembling lips? — and 
as soon as they arc heard " what aileth the people that 
they weep ?" What means that mournful knell, which, 
Hke the keenest woes of the inmost spirit, with suppress- 
ed and reluctant sound flows forth from ten thousand 
spires? What means the sad and sullen roar of that 
minute gun, as for hours and for days it rolls over our 
hills and dies away in our valleys ? Why is that star- 
spangled banner, which hath ever floated with lofty 
bearing in the presence of its foes, lowered from its 
proud place, and arrayed in mourning? "What aileth 
the people that they weep?" Why have the multitudes 
of our active and enterprising merchants shut their 
doors against the business of the world? Why does the 
artist, and the mechanic, and the farmer, pause in the 
midst of his pursuit, and, dropping the implement of his 
avocation, go with a sad step to mingle his sorrows with 
the weeping throng? Why is it, that from the learned 
and the isnorant — the high and the low — the rich and 
the poor, throughout the wide extent of our whole coun- 
try, from both sexes, and all classes, and all ages, the 
voice of lamentation is heard? What mean these large 
and solemn processions, as with badges of grief, and 
measured step, they are marching slowly and sadly to 
the sanctuaries of the Lord ? Why does that deep sigh 
break from the breast of the hardy sailor— and that tear 



of sorrow tremble on the cheek of the brave 'i Why 
are our rooms of state — our classic halls — and even the 
temples of the Lord, hung with these emblems of wo? 
"What aileth the people that they weep?" 

Your hearts, my fellow mourners, require no reply, 
for, upon them has Patriotism inscribed the epitaph of 
him for whom we weep. These are the lamentations of 
a nation of Freemen as they gather around the corpse 
of one, whom they themselves had called to occupy the 
highest office in their power to give — of one, who, not 
by royal descent or blind inheritance, (which presents no 
claim to the gratitude of the ruler, or the confidence of 
the ruled,) but by the free and cheerful voice of his fel- 
low citizens, as President of these United States, was 
placed in that honoured seat once occupied by their 
immortal Washington. These are the expressions of 
that universal grief, which shows how strong are the 
national ties that are freely formed, and how rich and 
lasting are the honours which are nobly won. A free 
and enlightened nation is weeping over her chosen and 
venerated Chief, torn suddenly and unexpectedly from 
her arms, and numbered with the dead. 

Nor are our sorrows under this painful event an evi- 
dence only of the respect and the affection which, as a 
country, we cherish for our common head. As our 
hearts are softened and subdued, how do all little differ- 
ences of opinion vanish from our minds, and as fellow 
citizens we feel ourselves drawn towards each other in 
tender affection. So the members of a family, when 
blessed with unclouded prosperity may become uncon- 
scious of the degree of affection which they bear towards 
each other, and, for a time, may even appear indifferent 



8 

to each other's peace — yet, when a Unk is broken from 
that golden chain — when they gather around a dying, or 
a dead father — then they learn not only how warmly 
that father was beloved, but how tender are the mutual 
ties that unite them. And as their tears flow over the 
same dear form, or fall on the same hallowed tomb, then 
their love for each other glows in all its warmth, and 
they feel that they are members of one family still. Is 
it not so with us as a nation in this common grief? 
Here all party distinctions are forgotten. Even those 
of opposite principles, who earnestly endeavoured to 
place another in our Presidential Chair, as in a free 
government they had a right to do, with a magnanimity 
and patriotism as honourable to themselves, as it is just 
to our republican principles, mingle their tears with 
those of their weeping country. Here, while bending 
over the corpse of our honoured Chief, we become con- 
scious of our love for each other, we feel that we have 
one home, that we are members of one family, and that 
we are united by ties the most intimate and enduring. 

Addressing you, as I do, my hearers, in this spirit, I 
fear not the injustice of a suspicion that I am seeking to 
advance, from this sacred desk, the principles of any 
party. I address you as Americans, the highest earth- 
ly distinction which you can bear, and as fellow- 
mourners, grieving under a bereavement which all de- 
plore. 

That our late President, William Henry Harrison, 
possessed great excellence of character none deny. Of 
his private virtues, the ardour of the domestic affections 
which he inspired, and the warm and constant friend- 
ships which he awakened, aflbrd sufficient evidence. 



Those who knew him best lament him most. Of his 
pub^c services it is also admitted by all, that in the va- 
rious stations which he was called to occupy, both mili- 
tary and civil, from his first appointment, when a stu- 
dent of medicine in this city, as ensign in the American 
army, by General Washington, at the early age of nine- 
teen years, till the day of his death as President of the 
United States, he performed his duties with a high de- 
gree of ability, and a uniform faithfulness and honesty 
which could not be surpassed. As a Patriot and a Sol- 
dier, the privations he endured — the dangers he encoun- 
tered — and the battles he fought in deadly conflict with 
savage foes, are nobly attested by his companions in 
arms, and they are recorded on the pages of his coun- 
try's history. And to aflbrd an illustrious evidence — a 
conclusive proof of his disinterested patriotism — to hold 
up before his successors in all coming ages, an example 
worthy of their imitation — to show the proud monarchs 
of other lands, with what intense affection the ruler of 
a free people may be devoted to the good of those over 
whom he is placed, when from his country he had re- 
ceived the highest honour he could ask or she bestow, 
the last words which that country is permitted to hear 
from his dying lips, are not of himself, nor for himself, 
but of her and for her welfare. 

Nor is this his highest praise. Without moral excel- 
lence, what an empty shadow is all human greatness? 
And where the influence of our, so called, great men is 
rather adverse than favourable to that religion which 
"exalteth a nation," whatever may be the services 
which they render, how absurd is it to pronounce them 
patriots or public benefactors? Admitting the Moral 



10 

and Providential government of God, which, as sound 
reasoners, we cannot deny ; admitting that the religion 
of the gospel demands integrity, frugality, sobriety and 
charity, and that it enforces these demands by the most 
solemn sanctions which human thought can conceive, 
can we doubt that he who is the best friend to that reli- 
gion, is also the best friend to his country; and that he 
whose heart is a stranger to its power, and whose in- 
fluence is hostile to its control, however he may pre- 
tend to be a friend, is in reality a foe to the state? To 
our departed President attaches no such reproach. He 
was most regular and devout in his attendance on the 
public worship of God. His Bible was his constant 
companion and his councillor, and we have reason to 
believe that he never forgot the teachings of his pious 
mother, who, as he himself declared, led him in early 
life to the seclusion of her closet, and there, night and 
morning, kneeling down by his side, taught him to pray 
"Our Father who art in heaven." 

By the members of his household we are informed, 
that during the busiest days of his life, when oppressed 
and worn down by the cares and labours of his office, 
he never omitted his seasons of retired and daily devo- 
tion. And in a letter addressed to his excellent lady, 
shortly after his induction into the office of President, 
he states that on assuming the high and solemn respon- 
sibilities of his charge, he embraced the first moments 
which he could seize, to retire from the crowd, and, 
casting himself upon his knees before God, blessed Him 
for all His goodness in times past, and implored the aid 
of His wisdom and grace for the future. He had not, 
it is true, connected himself by public profession with 



11 

any Christian Church, but we are credibly informed 
that he would have done so some years since, had it 
not been for the apprehension, that in the strife of po- 
litical conflict, his motives would have been ques- 
tioned. When the ground for such fears was removed, 
and he became the President of the United States, we 
are told by the clergyman whose ministrations he at- 
tended, that it was his intention, on the next communion 
of the Lord's Supper, to unite himself with the Church 
of Christ by an open avowal of his faith in Him. But, 
although it was a source of painful regret to him, and 
must be so to every Christian mind, that this had not 
been done before, yet had he not in one sense, and per- 
haps under circumstances more trying to human pride, 
publicly declared his faith in the religion of Christ? 
When, in compliance to the call of his country, he was 
broutrht forth from his comparatively humble and re- 
tired life — when he stood before an assembled multitude 
— there, when receiving the highest honours which the 
world could give — when surrounded by the pomp and 
pageantry of earth, and in the presence of the highest 
dignitaries both of our own and foreign lands, he fear- 
lessly yet humbly avowed himself the friend and advo- 
cate of that religion which the world regards not, and 
which the proud despise. Remembering the presence, 
and the place in which it was by him pronounced, allow 
me to repeat to you a single sentence from his inaugu- 
ral address. "I deem the present occasion," said he, 
" sufficiently important and solemn to justify me in ex- 
pressing, to my fellow citizens, a profound reverence for 
the Christian Religion, and a thorough conviction that 
sound morals, religious liberty, and a just sense of reli- 



12 

gioiis responsibility, are essentially connected with all 
true and lasting happiness; and to that good Being who 
has blessed us by the gifts of civil and religious freedom, 
who watched over and prospered the labours of our fa- 
thers, and has hitherto preserved to us institutions far 
exceeding in excellence those of any other people, let us 
unite in fervently commending every interest of our be- 
loved country in all future time." From such declara- 
tions, in such a place and at such a time, coming as we 
cannot doubt from a sincere and honest heart, viewed 
in connection with his public virtues and his private 
habits, and with his known intention to unite himself to 
the church of Christ, may we not cherish the hope that 
the disembodied spirit of our beloved President is now 
living and rejoicing in the society of the blest ! How- 
ever we may weep under our painful bereavement, may 
we not hope that the cloud which was so dark to us, 
was gilded with heaven's own light to him; that he 
only laid aside the flowers of earth, though they were 
blooming in their fairest beauty, and had but just been 
gathered, for those which are infinitely brighter and 
which shall never fade; and that the hand which re- 
moved from his brow the diadem with which a nation 
of freemen had adorned it, has placed there a crown of 
more sparkling glory, even a crown of everlasting life. 

Having left us reasons for such a hope, the name of 
William Henry Harrison may justly be added to those 
of our illustrious dead; his very grave will be a hallowed 
spot, and his unsullied memory, associated with all that 
is good and great, will be sacredly cherished by his 
country in all time to come, and will be an incentive 



13 

and encouragement to the Patriot and the Christian in 
future ages. 

God grant that so it may be! 

" Still may his memory bloom our vales among, 
Hallow'd by Freedom and enshrin'd in song ! 
Still may his pure and patriot spirit dwell, 
Bright on the land which loved his name so well. 
E'en as an angel, with presiding care, 
To wake and guard his own high virtues there." 

But let us turn from the contemplation of our painful 
loss as a nation, to meditate upon those momentous les- 
sons which God is teaching us in this unexpected and 
afflictive providence. 

The outward exhibitions of grief which we every 
where behold, are, we doubt not, the demonstrations of 
a heart-felt sorrow. They are manly and honourable 
in the living, because they are just to the services, the 
relation, and the virtues of the dead. But if our re- 
spect for the memory of our lamented President extends 
not beyond this — if, in a few days or weeks, the solemn 
impressions of these scenes are suffered to pass away — 
if our improvement of this melancholy event terminates 
in merely public and transient expressions of grief, then 
are our sorrows but a vain mockery, a passing show! 
then are his virtues and his noblest deeds all lost to 
us, and his death is a calamity indeed, the depth of 
which shall be felt, not only in this life, but in the end- 
less life to come. 

We cannot but believe that He who has revealed 
himself not only as the Supreme Ruler of the universe, 
but also as our Father in Heaven, in a dispensation so 



14 

startling and afflictive, designs the accomplishment of 
benevolent and blessed purposes. He delights not in 
the death of his creatures, nor in the infliction of sorrow 
upon nations. The peace and the life of him whose de- 
parture we mourn, were far more precious in the sight of 
God, than they could possibly be in ours. In this event, 
therefore, we behold Him, as it were, with vast expense, 
purchasing lessons of wisdom for the living. And it is 
wise in us to mark and improve such lessons in propor- 
tion to their cost. If this is done — if they are received 
into the heart of the community, then will the death of 
our lamented President prove a richer blessing than all 
the temporal advantages which could have been impart- 
ed by his life, and it will be of greater service to the 
people whom he loved, than all the labours he ever per- 
formed, or the victories he ever won. 

If we truly honour his memory, and seek to improve 
the lessons which his death affords, then must our public 
men, and our fellow citizens. 

Cultivate his virtues in their own hearts, and, in 

ALL that was worthy OF IMITATION, REFLECT THE LIGHT 
OF HIS EXAMPLE IN THEIR OWN LIVES. 

However some may object to his views of national 
policy, it must be admitted by all, that our late President 
was an lionest patriot^ and a high-ininded and honourable 
man. He meant to do right. It is evident from his 
course of life, and his public declarations, that no one 
more sincerely deprecated and frowned upon that vio- 
lence of party spirit which has too long raged among 
us, corrupting the morals, and shaking the very institu- 
tions of the country, by arraying those of one political 



15 

party in personal hostility against those who hold oppo- 
site opinions. A well authenticated anecdote may illus- 
trate this excellence in his character perhaps more clear- 
ly than volumes. " During the heat of the late political 
contest," says a highly respectable clergyman, " in which 
General Harrison and Mr. Van Buren were competitors 
for the presidential chair, I was one day in company 
with the former, when a gentleman addressing him made 
some remark of a personal nature against Mr. Van Bu- 
ren. General Harrison immediately said, ' Sir, Mr. Van 
Buren is my friend; we have always been on terms of 
the kindest friendship, and I cannot listen to a word 
against his character, nor would he permit it in reference 
to myself without rebuke.' " It is evident from this in- 
cident, and from his uniform manliness of spirit, that 
while he had his own views of policy, he was perfectly 
willing that others should have theirs, and that he would 
not descend to the little and contemptible means of ad- 
vancing his influence, as is too common among the in- 
ferior advocates of all parties, by personal detraction 
and abuse. 

It must also be admitted, that he was not only a high- 
minded and honourable man, but that he had a generous 
and benevolent spirit. With a liberal charity he employed 
the means in his power to extend peace and happiness 
to all around him. He was truly the poor man's friend, 
as well by his private beneficence as by his pubhc and 
official efforts. A frank and an honest republican, hav- 
ing received his earliest impressions from the example 
of Washington, he was true to the principles of his 
country, and a foe to the empty pride of aristocracy. 
The most lowly might approach him without fear, and 



16 

merit, however obscure or despised by others, always 
found a friend and companion in him. 

There is one other excellence to which, in this con- 
nexion, I must again briefly refer, because it is the most 
important, and the most rare, as well as the most wor- 
thy of universal imitation. I refer to Ids publicly avowed 
veneration for the blessed religion of the gospel^ and to 
those traits of Christian character which now constitute 
the chief sources of support to his mourning friends, and 
the only foundations of our hope for his present and 
eternal peace. It is very evident that, unlike the ma- 
jority of men, when he was most honoured by the 
world he was most humble in spirit, and when he was 
surrounded by the allurements and the pride of life, he 
was sufficiently brave in moral courage to express his 
homage for the truth of God, and to acknowledge Him 
as Lord over all. He seems to have entered upon the 
duties of his high office, determined to exert an influence 
favourable to true piety, and cherishing the impression 
of his own accountability to God. In this respect how 
worthy of imitation is the example which he has placed 
before his successors in office, and all those who may 
be called to occupy stations of solemn trust! And how 
strikingly do they behold the value of such a spirit ex- 
hibited in this dispensation, by which, from the midst of 
his earthly honours, he has been so unexpectedly sum- 
moned before the Judge of all, there to give up his ac- 
count. How changed are now the objects of his inte- 
rest and the sources of his joy ! In looking back over 
the scenes of the past, now irrecoverable for ever, how 
insignificant and worthless are the shouts of human ap- 
plause, the trophies of victory, and the pomp and splen- 



17 

dour of the world! How has the glory of it all vanished 
away, while every eftbrt of faith, every emotion of holy 
love, every deed of Christian charity, though unseen and 
unpraised by men, now constitute the only imperishable 
gems of the past, his only honours for eternity. 

And this suggests another lesson, which, in a manner 
most impressive, God is teaching us by this afflictive 
providence. It is 

The insufficiency of all earthly things. 

It is true that we behold this exemplified not only in the 
death of the distinguished, but also in that of the obscure. 
Death in every case is a visible illustration of the vanity 
of all worldly possessions, and the frailty of all earthly 
ties. No matter how warmly the objects of time may 
have engaged the interest of years that are past, they 
fade away before the sight of the dying, and at length 
the eyes close on them forever. No matter what earthly 
hopes or glowing affections the heart may have cherish- 
ed, its ties give way at the touch of death, and at length 
it ceases to beat. The body must return to dust, and 
the immortal spirit must enter eternity. Of this every 
passing funeral, every badge of mourning, every memo- 
rial of the dead admonishes us. It tells us of parting 
sighs which have been heard, and of parting tears which 
have been shed. It tells us that another deathless spirit 
has bid a last adieu to all the things of time, and stood 
before the bar of its holy Judge. It tells us that in bliss 
or in wo the destiny of another soul is unchangeably 
fixed for eternity, and it bids us remember that soon we 
also must say to all the world, farewell, farewell forever! 
Not an eye closes in death which does not exhibit this 



18 

truth to the hving: not a heart ceases to beat, which, 
in that very stillness, does not address this lesson to 
those that are yet throbbing with life. But how impres- 
sively is it proclaimed by that mournful event which has 
assembled us this evening! Here we behold one ele- 
vated to the highest office in the gift of a free and mighty 
people, and on that lofty eminence attracting the gaze 
of millions both in our own and in foreign lands; we be- 
hold him clothed with the proudest honours which the 
world can give, and surrounded by the most imposing 
scenes of pomp and power which the world can exhibit. 
But, as our eyes are fixed upon him, what do we see? 
A deadly paleness is stealing over that venerable brow; 
that brave arm falls nerveless at his side; those com- 
manding lips lose the power of utterance, and that eye, 
so long beaming with benevolence and hope, grows dim 
to all earthly objects — a faint sigh, a last struggle — now 
all is hushed, and behold the image of Death is seated in 
our Chair of State! Is not God speaking to us, by this 
act, as with a voice from heaven, and saying, "Behold, 
O man, the vanity of the world ?" Is he not seeking to 
make us pause in our blind and infatuated pursuit after 
the empty shadows of time, and striving to turn our 
thoughts to those substantial realities which alone are 
satisfying and enduring? 

But this providence not only exhibits the insufficiency 
of earthly things, it also teaches us 

Their insecurity. 

We can scarcely conceive an example better adapted 
to impress this conviction on the heart of our country. 



19 

than that which, in this event, God has held up before 
us. 

We cannot but suppose that the thought of being ele- 
vated to the high office of chief magistrate of this popu- 
lous and powerful nation was a subject of the deepest 
interest to our departed President for months and years 
before it was attained. The prospect of such distinguish- 
ed honour, and we may believe the hope of rendering still 
more signal services to his country, doubtless occupied 
much of his thought and kindled his ambition. With 
the multitudes of his friends and partisans (we admit 
from honest and patriotic motives) the object appears to 
have been one of yet more ardent desire, and of united, 
energetic, and persevering effort. At length their wishes 
are fulfilled. The venerable patriot, the undaunted sol- 
dier, and the sound statesman, is brought forth from the 
quiet of retired life, and hailed as the chosen chieftain 
of the land. The day which is to behold him crowned 
with a nation's honours has dawned. The bells of the 
Capitol are sending forth their joyous peals, and the 
roaring cannon proclaims the jubilee of the people; and 
there, surrounded by immense throngs of his admiring 
countrymen, while plumes are waving and banners are 
floating in the air, and gladsome music thrills on every 
ear — there, in the midst of that proud array, we behold 
the man on whom all eyes are resting, and in whose 
elevation the hearts of that vast assemblage are glowing 
with delight. Grand and imposing is the pageantry, and 
the breast of that honoured chief is swelling with high 
emotions, and his eyes are sparkling with the fire of ear- 
lier days. But scarcely has that joyous shout died away, 
and the pomp of that imposing scene ceased, before the 



20 

tolling bells of the Capitol are again heard — another 
throng has assembled, and another procession is seen — 
but, alas! it is the knell of death which now floats 
mournfully upon the breeze; the triumphal chariot is 
changed for the sable hearse, the proud banner for the 
winding sheet, the gladsome music for the solemn fune- 
real dirge — and they are bearing that form, pale, and 
cold, and lifeless, to its last long home in the dust. 

" Ye weep, and it is well ! 
For tears befit earth's partings ! Yesterday, 
Song was upon the lips of this pale clay, 

And sunshine seemed to dwell 
Where'er he moved — the welcome and the blest ! 
Now gaze — and bear the silent to his rest." 

Is this a dream, or is it reality? May the brightest 
visions of earth vanish so soon, so suddenly? May the 
eyes grow dim in the very moment when they are beam- 
ing with delight, and the arrow of death pierce the heart 
in the very moment when it is throbbing with joy and 
glowing with hope? Great God! is our hold on all that 
is dear upon earth so weak, so insecure? and may we 
thus in an instant be summoned to thine awful bar? Yes, 
these weeds of mourning answer, yes! — The knell of 
death which has this day fallen upon our ears, in every 
tone has answered, yes! — The very presence of this sor- 
rowing assembly answers, yes! 

O dying man! are you prepared to meet your God? 
Have you treasures which death cannot touch? Have 
you honours which the grave cannot cover? Child of 
dust and yet heir of immortality, hast thou joys which 
no change can destroy? Hast thou hopes which the dark- 



21 

ness of the tomb cannot quench? If not, is not thy de- 
lay madness, and thy pleasures delusion? Listen then 
to the voice of this providence as addressing thee; it 
exclaims, "Prepare to meet thy God!" — "prepare to 
meet thy God!" Look upon the silent dust of him who 
was so lately adorned in the honours of the world. Go 
and stand beside his lonely grave ; and do you not hear 
a voice from those cold lips saying, " Seek ye the Lord 
while he may be found?" But I cannot leave you, my 
fellow sinner, at the grave of our departed President. 
There is another, and a more sacred sepulchre to which, 
in closing this address, I would fain conduct you. Turn 
then from the tomb in which moulder the remains of a 
nation's chief, to that in which slept the Son of God, the 
Saviour of the lost. In the one you have seen the in- 
sufficiency of all earthly treasures, and the insecurity of 
all earthly hopes; through the darkness of the other you 
behold the dawning of a cloudless day, and life and im- 
mortality are brought to light. The one you have seen 
closed upon all the pleasures of sense, and the honours 
of the world; but behold from the other the stone is 
rolled away, the door of the sepulchre is opened, and, as 
he steps forth in majesty and strength, listen to the voice 
of the living Redeemer — " He that believeth in me, 
though he were dead yet shall he live; and whosoever 
liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Hear those 
words with glad and grateful hearts. Believe, obey, and 
take eternal life. Amen. 



A NATION'S GLORY AND STRENGTH. 



DISCOURSE 



PRONOUNCED 



IN THE FIRST REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, 
PHILADELPHIA, 

ON THE 

DAY OF THE NATIONAL FAST. 



CORNELIUS C, VANARSDALE, 

Pastor of the Church. 



PUBLISHED BY REaUEST. 



May 14, 1841. 



•~><A^A»^ffiWO'^^^>>v~ 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PRINTED BY JOHN C. CLARK, 60 DOCK STREET. 

1841. 



DISCOURSE 



Prov. xiv. 13. 
"Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." 

The religion of the Bible is intended and adapted to 
promote the glory of God, in the rescue, the elevation, 
and the happiness of man. Its primary aim is to purify 
him from the stain, and deliver him from the dominion 
of sin, and prepare him for an eternal inheritance with 
the "saints in light." In the accomplishment of this glo- 
rious purpose, it reveals to him, as a sinner, a compas- 
sionate and an all-sufficient Saviour, in and through 
whom, by true penitence and humble trust, he may find 
forgiveness and acceptance with God, be restored to His 
favour, and made to rejoice in His love. Thus it is only 
by faith in Christ that the soul which has sinned, even 
in thought, can be justified before God, and clothed with 
a righteousness which shall enable it to stand uncon- 
founded and enraptured in the very presence of the 
HOLY ONE. This, in the highest and most spiritual 
sense, is the definition which the Scripture itself gives 
of the term "righteousness" as it is there used. "He 
shall be called," says an inspired prophet, "the Lord our 
RIGHTEOUSNESS." And SO au apostle declares, that the 
only sufficient righteousness for the soul before God, is 
"the righteousness which is by faith in Christ." While 



26 

this imputed righteousness, however — this oneness with 
Christ, and being "in Him," is our only ground of hope 
before God, and the source of our highest spiritual joy 
on earth, we are also taught from the word of God, 
that its inseparable fruit will be " righteousness of life." 
By which we are to understand an inward and an exter- 
nal conformity to the will of God as unfolded in his 
holy word. The same divine spirit which leads the 
soul to Christ, inspires its ardent desires to promote his 
glory, and to keep his law, and where there is no obe- 
dience to that law there is no genuine and saving faith. 
Christ is not "the minister of sin," but the Saviour from 
it, both from its curse and its dominion. The recover- 
ing process, therefore, which the Bible reveals for man, 
in its application and effects, is to be commenced on 
earth. It is not only to provide for him a complete 
righteousness in Christ, but it is to work in him a per- 
sonal righteousness, both of heart and of life. Hence, 
we are warned against cherishing any confidence in a 
dead and inoperative faith. "Be not deceived, he that 
doeth righteousness is righteous." 

Such then, in the strict and Scriptural sense of the 
word, is that " righteousness" which is spoken of in the 
text. It stands placed, as you perceive, in opposition 
to all sin, and must therefore be understood as express- 
ing a genuine, devout and practical religion, leading 
its possessor to the faithful performance of those duties 
which we owe to God — to ourselves — and our fellow 
men. 

Now, in the passage before us, the wisest of men, in- 
spired also with the wisdom of God, declares that this 
righteousness, besides accomplishing, as its great object. 



27 

the salvation of those who possess it, is also attended 
with innumerable advantages and the richest blessings, 
both to individuals and nations, wherever it prevails. 
It not only prepares man for an eternal life in heaven, 
but it opens prospects, implants principles, furnishes 
motives, and prescribes laws, which fit him to answer 
the high purposes of the present life. It not only lights 
up with joy the mansions of the blest, but causes the 
barren deserts of this world "to bud and blossom as the 
rose;" and diffuses peace, and happiness, and prosperi- 
ty through every community and country, where it is 
truly understood and possessed. "Righteousness exalt- 
eth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." 

To the illustration of this truth, I now invite your at- 
tention; and as it discovers the source of all the ca- 
lamities which we have suffered as a nation, and the 
ground of far greater inflictions, which, from our sins, 
we have reason to apprehend; so it points out the only 
way in which the sorrows of the past may be sanctified, 
and the judgments of the future averted. 

Righteousness then must tend to exalt a nation, be- 
cause IT RECOGNISES THAT GREAT TRUTH, THAT GoD IS 

UPON THE THRONE REPOSES ITS CONFIDENCE SUPREMELY 

UPON Him and has his PR03IISE for the support of HIS 

ARM, AND the BLESSINGS OF HIS PROVIDENCE. 

Whatever may be the wisdom of our institutions — 
the extent of our commerce — the sources of our wealth — 
the degree of our intelligence, and the power and bravery 
of our armies, still, the declaration from heaven is in- 
scribed above them all, corroborated by reason, and con- 
firmed by experience, "The Lord, the Lord God Omni- 
potent reigneth." By a word of his mouth, He can over- 



28 

throw all human institutions, confound all human wisdom, 
prostrate all human strength, and send upon us poverty, 
desolation and death as the messengers of his wrath. 
He who presides over second causes, and is the First 
Great Cause of all, directs and controls them at his will, 
"and none can stay his hand, or say what doest thou." 
He reigns supreme, absolute, alone. But his govern- 
ment, while it is supreme, is neither capricious nor un- 
just. As He demands nothing but what is right and 
benevolent, therefore, he declares, "the nation that will 
not serve me shall perish." So, on the contrary, to those 
who truly acknowledge His supremacy, and, looking 
above the wisdom of man, or "an arm of flesh," in the 
spirit of loving and child-like confidence, put their trust 
in Him, he has given his word, that, in his own time and 
way, he will deliver them out of all their troubles, crown 
them with victory over all their foes, and cover them 
with prosperity and renown. 

From the very nature of its practical duties, it 

MAY further be SHOWN THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A 
NATION, WHILE SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE. 

As we have already remarked, righteousness, in the 
Scriptural sense of the term, includes a conformity to 
the will of God, as it is unfolded in his word. In that 
word He has laid down rules of conduct for his rational 
and accountable creatures, which extend to all the rela- 
tions and circumstances of life. Its first demand is 
upon the supreme love of the heart, which is the main- 
spring of all the outward conduct. This it calls forth 
and requires to be placed upon the infinite and most 



29 

adorable God himself, who is holy, just and good. The 
second requirement is, "thou shalt love thy neighbour 
as thyself." Now, is it not evident that the tendency of 
obedience to these divine commands must be to pro- 
mote peace and prosperity among men? Can it for a 
moment be questioned, that if the excellent precepts of 
Jesus Christ were universally obeyed, his own meek and 
gentle spirit cherished, and his pure and benevolent life 
made the pattern of imitation, many of the greatest evils 
which we cruelly inflict upon ourselves and each other, 
would vanish from the world, and its welfare and its 
peace would be secured ? Such is the righteousness 
spoken of in the text, and such, therefore, is its tenden- 
cy. In sin, as its opposite, we have hearts hostile to 
God, and absorbed in sensuality. Intemperance, Op- 
pression, Fraud, Avarice, Pride, Envy, Uncharitableness, 
and Revenge, are all included in its train of evils. 
Which then tends to exalt, and which to debase man- 
kind? Let even the Atheist, the Infidel answer — which? 
This must be still more apparent, if we regard men in 
their associated relations under civil government. In 
the present state of things, there is a necessity that 
some form of government should be adopted, whereby 
individual rights may be defined and protected, and laws 
for the pubhc good devised and enforced. But on what 
principles can we depend, to what motives can we ap- 
peal, by what directions can we act, cither in framino-, 
or enforcing, or obeying the laws of the land, better 
than those which are inspired and furnished by the reli- 
gion of the Bible? It is true that we, as a nation, have 
endeavoured to separate civil from religious govern- 
ment, and, to a certain extent, it has been accomplished. 



30 

That is, we allow "every man to worship God accord- 
ing to the dictates of his own conscience." But, to a 
certain and a happy degree, they are still connected, be- 
cause, unless we returned to a savage or a heathen 
state, it was impossible wholly to divide them. Our 
laws still profess to be drawn from the laws of God, or 
appeal to them for their high and solemn sanctions. 
Above, and superadded to their penalties and rewards, 
therefore, we acknowledge and point to those of the law 
of God. In devising them, our legislators are to be 
guided by what the word of God approves or condemns. 
In executing them, those who are entrusted with this 
high authority, even up to the Chief Magistrate of the 
Union, are bound by the solemnities of an oath upon 
the word of God, faithfully to fulfil their duties. In 
our courts of justice, without which the law would be a 
mockery and government could not exist, the judges on 
their bench, the jurors, the counsellors and the wit- 
nesses are all and each of them also bound by their oath 
to fidelity and truth. It is the belief, therefore, that 
there is a higher tribunal before which we must all ap- 
pear, that there is a God who approves righteousness 
and abhors and will punish sin, that gives to this solemn 
appeal to Him all its force, and constitutes the very 
bond of our union, and the ground of our security. 
Now, let the sense of moral obligation and accountabili- 
ty be weakened or removed, and what is to become of 
us as a nation? Are not the very foundations of our 
government up-raised and destroyed? What will be 
the force of an oath to your Presidents — your Judges — 
your Jurors — your Witnesses, and the various public offi- 
cers who receive their trusts under its sanction ? On what 



31 

principle can you depend, or what sufficient substitute can 
you supply ? The fact is, though to all useful purposes 
we have no "union between church and state," yet, our 
government acknowledges its dependence on the reli- 
gion of the Bible, and there is no government upon 
earth which is as much so in reality. It does look up 
to God for support, and so intimately are the truths of 
His word interwoven with the principles of our institu- 
tions and the spirit of our laws, that to separate them is 
to rend the whole fabric into shreds, and to scatter its 
atoms on the wings of the wind. He, therefore, who, 
in our country, denies or disregards the religion of the 
Bible, he whose mind and whose influence are in favour 
of that "sin" which "is a reproach to any people," is 
guilty of treason against the nation, as well as impiety 
towards God. He is a rebel against the government of 
his country, as well as against the laws of the Almighty. 

The truth declared in the text may be further 
illustrated by striking examples in the history of 

NATIONS. 

If we turn to the sacred page itself, and examine the 
history of God's ancient and chosen people, as con- 
firmed by their own historian, and by facts which, in 
the present day, are before our eyes, we shall find that 
the experiment has been made, and the answer of the 
actual result is, " righteousness exalteth a nation, but 
sin is a reproach to any people." 

In the word of inspiration, we find the destruction of 
the Jewish nation foretold and described centuries be- 
fore it occurred. But we also find that the causes of 



32 

that destruction were as clearly pointed out. It was 
positively declared, as a reference to the scriptures will 
show, that if they continued faithful to their God, he 
would continue to bless them. All the subsequent de- 
feats and sufferings, therefore, through which they 
passed, they brought upon themselves by their sins. 
In their many wars with the Canaanites, for example, 
how plainly is this truth exhibited. It was only when 
they sinned, that God gave them up to their foes. It 
was not till they first deserted Him, that God forsook 
them, and permitted them to be conquered and spoiled 
by their enemies. This was still more apparent in their 
final abandonment, when they rejected the Lord of 
Glory, and tortured him to death upon the cross. It 
was not until the life of all pure religion had left them ; 
not until they abandoned the Almighty, and by repeated 
and aggravated crimes vexed his Holy Spirit, that the 
Shekinah departed from the holy place, and with it de- 
parted also their national glory and defence. At the 
time of our Saviour's crucifixion, the Jewish people 
seem to have reached the very depth of profligacy and 
corruption. Josephus, one of their own historians, in- 
forms us, that those who were highest in public esteem, 
were those who were most flagitious and immoral in 
their lives. "In short," says he, "they were univer- 
sally corrupt. They vied which should exceed the other 
in impiety towards God, and injustice towards man." 
This is evident, also, from the simple statement of facts 
which is given to us by the inspired writers of the time, 
in their account of the trial and crucifixion of our Lord. 
He was dragged before the bar of pretended justice by 
an infuriated mob. The very judge who presided. 



33 

though aware that through envy and malice they ac- 
cused him, and though convinced of his innocence, con- 
demned him to death. Here we see in what manner 
pubhc justice was administered — a corrupt magistracy 
influenced more by a desire to gratify the people, and re- 
tain their favour, than by the fear of God or the hope of 
his favour. And then, too, when in the wild impetuosity 
of their rage, we hear the people crying out, "his blood 
be on us and on our children," we see how the most 
tender and endeared relations of life had withered under 
the influence of vice. As we pursue this account ; as 
we see them leading away their innocent victim, mock- 
ing, scourging, and reviling him, and even their chief 
priests, and scribes, and elders, leading on this savage 
outrage against the pure, and spotless, and benevolent 
Jesus; as we see them nailing him to a cross, and 
sporting with his bitter agonies and dying groans, a 
bare glance at such a scene of horror chills our blood, 
and we cannot doubt that, as a nation, they were aw- 
fully corrupt, for this is one instance from which we 
may learn their general character. And now, what 
was the result? Let their subsequent history answer. 
It was, as you know, only a few years after this ap- 
palling crime, when the fearful and just retribution de- 
scended on their land. The destruction of Jerusalem is 
one of the most awful events recorded in the history of 
the world. Army after army was subdued and slaugh- 
tered by the Roman sword. Beaten and pursued, they 
were at length driven within their city, where they were 
closely besieged by their mighty foes. Thousands upon 
thousands were taken captives, and crucified before the 
city walls. Nor was this all. While they were thus 



34 

guarded and slaughtered by their enemies without the 
city, famine and rapine, and bloody factions, were 
rasfing within. With all the malice and the madness 
of fiends, they turned on one another, and drenched 
their hands in each other's blood. In this manner, in 
the short space of six months, more than a million of 
these wretched beings perished. Their name was blot- 
ted out from among the nations ; their proud city was 
utterly destroyed; their lofty temple was prostrated in 
the dust, and the spot where it stood was ploughed up 
by the Roman soldiers. The remnant of the inhabit- 
ants were taken captives and sold as slaves, until, as 
declared in prophecy, there was literally "none to buy." 
And to this day, as a people, are they not, in many por- 
tions of the earth, despised and abused as dogs: are 
they not scattered through all nations without a coun- 
try and without a name ; both by their past history and 
their present state declaring to all the w orld — " righ- 
teousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any 
people." 

Has not this truth been strikingly illustrated, also, in 
the history of France ? 

Whatever may be said of the oppressions under 
which the people of that nation laboured, from the false 
and cruel exactions of a corrupt priesthood; of the 
gross ignorance in which they were kept by being de- 
nied the privilege of religious inquiry, and impiously 
forbidden to read God's holy word; yet it was not a 
reformation in reliojion which the more intellioent anions' 
them, their infidel leaders, sought, or which the body of 
the people desired. It was to banish even the faint 
glimmering of religious light, which still flickered over 



35 

their guilty land, and to exhibit to the world a specimen 
of the happier results, and the brighter prosperity which 
would rest upon the nation where God was not acknow 
ledged, and from which his word was exiled. The great 
experiment which they wished to make, M^as that of a 
country without any religion. It was made. The idea 
of moral obligation was publicly and fearlessly re- 
nounced. The legislature declared void the law of 
God. Death was asserted, by an act of the govern- 
ment, to be an eternal sleep. All religion was pro- 
nounced delusion. The Sabbath was abolished; the 
existence of God was declared to be a fable ; and the 
churches, which had been erected for his worship, were 
converted into temples of idols. Atheism and infidelity 
reigned in their councils, and triumphed through the 
land. And what was the result ? Profligacy and vice, 
in all their forms and most shocking aspects, every 
where spread terror and desolation. And notwith- 
standing her serene sky and her luxuriant soil; not- 
withstanding the distinction which she had previously 
enjoyed as the favourite abode of science and the arts, 
the land where literature and genius flourished, and 
where the most polished manners and refined taste 
seemed to have accomplished all which nature had left 
undone to form an earthly paradise — France, " la belle 
France P'' — was converted into one vast field of carnage 
and of crime, and made the theatre of the most appal- 
ling scenes of horror and of blood which the world has 
ever witnessed. In short, it has been well said, that 
" the whole kingdom appeared to be changed into one 
great prison, and the inhabitants into felons. To con- 
templative men it seemed, for a season, as if the knell 



36 

of the whole nation was tolled, and the world sum- 
moned to the funeral." Within the short space of ten 
years, not less than three millions of human beings are 
supposed to have perished in that single country, 
through the influence of atheism and irreligion. These 
are their triumphs. Such is the actual result of this 
great experiment, "Righteousness exalteth a nation, 
but sin is a reproach to any people." 

Perhaps I have dwelt too long upon this part of the 
subject before us, but these are illustrations of the mo- 
mentous and immutable truth declared in the text. 
These are wrecks which are left along the stream of 
time, as beacons to warn all nations, in all coming ages, 
to beware of the rocks on which they split. The same 
causes will produce the same effects, not only in Judea 
and in France, but in America. "Righteousness exalteth 
a nation." Let this righteousness, in its purity and power, 
be cherished and exhibited among us — let the influence of 
its heaven-inspired and heaven-directed affections be felt, 
and its heaven-approved precepts be obeyed, and we 
shall be blessed and protected of God; even our sorrows 
shall be turned into blessings, and no earthly power — 
no foreign invasion, nor internal commotion will ever 
wrest from us our liberties, or destroy our peace. It is 
to this that we are to look for our safety and our hope, 
and it is this which constitutes the true glory and lasting 
strength of a nation. But "sin is a reproach to any 
people." If we, therefore, forget or renounce the so- 
vereignty of God — if his word is neglected, or closed, 
or disobeyed — if the love of God reigns not in our 
hearts, and faith in his blessed Son enlists not our sin- 
cere affections and devout services — if sin prevails and 



37 

vice and iniquity abound, and the religion of the Bible 
is treated with indifference or scorn, the same fearful 
results will attend the same experiment, wrought out by 
Judea and France. God will visit us with his chastise- 
ments, at first, perhaps, comparatively light, that by 
some act of his hand which strikes our senses, we may 
be obliged to mark, and led to acknowledge, his su- 
preme control. If these are still disregarded, or pro- 
duce not their intended effects, some severer blow will 
follow, till at length the thick cloud of his vengeance 
will gather over us; our closing history will be a fear- 
ful tale of defeat and slaughter or of anarchy and blood; 
our proud banner will be smitten by the lightnings of 
heaven from its lofty place, and the Star of our Free- 
dom will fade away forever. Can it be, my hearers, 
that this process has already commenced? 

When we peruse the history of our country, we can- 
not but be struck with the signal marks of the Divine 
favour towards us in years that are past. That He 
crowned the httle band of our revolutionary heroes with 
victory over mighty armies and wise and brave com- 
manders, none can deny. That he has conferred upon 
us privileges which no other nation possesses, and that 
he has thus far continued them to us, is equally evident. 
Notwithstanding the ingratitude, and disobedience, and 
disregard towards Him, which have prevailed among us 
as a nation, he has still borne with us, and continued to 
shower down upon us his mercies in such richness and 
profusion, that we may well suppose he has been striving 
by His goodness to win our love and inspire our de- 
votion. Can it be that He is now about to visit us with 
his judgments? Are there not reasons for such an ap- 



38 

prehension? Has He not recently sent forth the desola- 
ting flames in many portions of our country, and espe- 
ally in our large cities, spreading consternation and ruin 
in their course? Has He not, with a frequency un- 
known before, clothed himself in terror on the mighty 
deep, sending abroad the howling tempest, and causing 
the ocean to swallow up our treasures ; while from its 
raging waves the shriek — the cry — the dying groan of 
our friends and fellow citizens comes back to us as they 
sink forever from our sight? Have not our beautiful 
bays and rivers been called to witness scenes of agony, 
which no pencil can picture and no tongue describe ? 
Are not the hearts of thousands among us, at this mo- 
ment bleeding with the wounds which disaster and 
death have made? Has He not sent his messenger into 
our very Capitol, and show^n us that He only is upon the 
throne, by numbering our Chief Magistrate with the 
dead; thus, by a single act, prostrating the hopes of mil- 
lions, and making us a nation of mourners? And is He 
not at this moment, by withholding the wonted rays of 
the sun and the balmy air of spring, from a wide extent 
of our country, and by shrouding the skies in darkness, 
and sending upon our land cold and protracted rains, 
holding his rod of terror over us, and threatening to 
withhold from us the comforts of life and the necessary 
means of its support? 

May we not account for these inflictions, and disco- 
ver additional grounds of apprehension, if we consider 
our sins? 

See, for example, how the very bounties of God, in- 
stead of calling forth our gratitude and love to Him, 
have been made to nourish a spirit of pride and sinful 



39 

ambition. Though it is our boast and our joy that we 
are descended from those, who in casting ofl^ the yoke 
of bondage to foreign oppression, cast off with it the 
empty titles and vain pomp of foreign nations, despising 
their vices and renouncing their debasing luxuries; 
though we dehght to regard them as examples of honest 
simplicity themselves, and as the founders of a govern- 
ment in which the people should be formed into a com- 
mon brotherhood, from which pride, and ostentation, 
and aristocracy should be excluded; yet, alas! where 
can we now find that spirit in their sons! Where is 
that simplicity, and frugality, and industry, which 
adorned their characters and which blessed their lives? 
Nor is this degeneracy confined to their sons, it extends 
to their daughters also. How rarely do we behold in 
them, that sweet simplicity of manners — that economy 
in dress — that love of home, and those habits of indus- 
try, which were the cherished virtues and the fairest 
charms of our maternal ancestry, and which were so 
illustriously exemplified even in "Mary, the mother of 
Washington." We have departed from these bright ex- 
amples, and from the very spirit of our institutions. We 
are already imitating the manners, and striving to put 
on the fashions, to equal and exceed the vain splendour 
of old and corrupt monarchies, and to revel in the same 
luxuries, and dash into the same polished vices. 

What a sad and humiliating evidence of this truth is 
aflforded by the multitudes of both sexes, who are seen, 
night after night, thronging to theatres, those nurseries 
of sin and death; and especially when a woman, who is 
unworthy of the name, of the most abandoned character, 
on her approach to our shores from a Ibreign land, is 



40 

hailed by thousands with a tumult of joy, and for the 
immodest performance of a single evening, in minister- 
ino- to a corrui)t taste, is permitted to bear away over 
three thousand dollars of the nation's wealth; and to a 
still more alarming extent to debase the nation's morals, 
and disgrace its name. It cannot be doubted that if we 
had adhered to the example of our honoured progeni- 
tors — had we cherished the spirit of our republican prin- 
ciples — had we avoided the extravagance, and luxury, 
and fashionable vices, which have so extensively pre- 
vailed among us, the painful embarrassments into which 
we have been thrown, would, in a great measure, if not 
entirely, have been avoided also, and we should have 
been at this moment, a prosperous and happy people. 
These were the conquerors of ancient Greece and 
Rome, and let us beware lest we also become their vic- 
tims. 

Again, the very bounties of Providence, instead of 
inspiring gratitude and contentment, have been made to 
nourish a spirit of covetousness, and an impious grasp- 
ing after more. 

Where is there upon earth a nation which has so 
much cause to be grateful to God for his distinguishing 
favours ? Since the moment when she first broke away 
from her cruel and oppressive parent, the growth and 
prosperity of our country have been without a parallel. 
With an exuberant soil, yielding every variety of pro- 
duce, and, in extent, far beyond what we have power to 
cultivate; possessing within our own borders the means 
of supplying every comfort, and gratifying every rea- 
sonable wish, what is there to prevent us from being a 
contented and a happy people? Surely nothing but 



41 

the madness of our own hearts, which seem bent upon 
making us miserable in defiance of the favours of hea- 
ven. So far from beholding us either grateful to Him, 
or contented with our generous allotment, what has 
been the spectacle which the pure eyes of God have, 
for months and years, looked down upon in this coun- 
try? A nation of idolaters! Such his own word pro- 
nounces us, when it declares that " covetousness is 
idolatry." Not satisfied with an abundant competency, 
and regardless of Him who gave it, what multitudes 
among us have been struggling after excessive wealth, 
and making it their God? It is this idolatry of riches, 
which has brought honest industry into disrepute among 
us, which has impelled such numbers to dash into gam- 
bling speculations, in which many, who had nothing of 
their own to stake, have ventured the property, and per- 
haps the all, of others. And to such an extent has this 
system been carried, that incorporated bodies, with their 
charters from the states, have only used this high au- 
thority as a surer bait ; and then the lonely widow and 
the helpless orphan, who have entrusted to them their 
mite, are turned homeless and penniless upon the world, 
while they roll on in splendour as before, and only smile 
at the ruin they have made. 

We also acknowledge that our political privileges 
are great national blessings. We feel the happiness of 
being enabled to exclaim with Paul — 'I was free born." 
From our very birth we have breathed the pure air of 
liberty, and enjoyed, in a greater degree than any other 
nation under heaven, its most favourable tendency to 
inspire free and manly thought, and its opportunities 
for lofty, virtuous, and patriotic action. Have we im- 

F 



42 

proved it to these ends? or have we employed it in se- 
curing selfish and sensual purposes? We also rejoice 
in the representative nature of our government. Every 
citizen has equal rights in choosing his rulers ; and, by 
a free suffrage, is permitted to select those who are 
most likely to fulfil the duties of their trust, and pro- 
mote the public good. It is evident, that if our privi- 
leges were rightly improved, we would, in this respect, 
be a favoured and a happy people. But have they been 
so improved? Have we not reason to fear that multi- 
tudes have never made it a subject of conscientious 
inquiry, independent of selfish motives, for whom their 
votes should be given? And then, too, while in cases 
of flagrant error or evident mal-administration we have 
a right to express our objections against candidates for 
office, or to exhibit the faults of our rulers, have we not 
abused this privilege also? By the indulgence of vio- 
lent party spirit; by regarding and speaking of those 
who held opinions diflferent from our own, as enemies, 
by wanton and reckless attacks upon their character, 
especially when they were candidates for public office ; 
by exaggerating the errors of our rulers; by casting 
censure upon them in cases where it was not deserved; 
by assailing them with unreserved and often unmerited 
reproach, and indecent and dishonourable insinuations; 
have we not been fostering alienations among ourselves, 
forgetting the proper respect which is due to those in 
authority, and violating the express injunctions of God's 
holy word? 

Are there not other, and yet more alarming sins, 
which are also still more extensively prevalent among 
us, and justly expose us, as a nation, to the severer 



43 

judgments of Heaven? See how Intemperance yet 
pours its streams of iniquity, desolation and wo, through 
every portion of our guilty land. See what frequent 
and appalling accounts are daily brought to our ears, of 
robberies and murders, and every form of crime, un- 
paralleled both in number and atrocity. See how the 
word of God is neglected and despised by thousands and 
by millions in our midst — how his sanctuary is forsaken, 
his sabbath desecrated, his providence disregarded — 
his government denied, and his holy law trampled under 
foot. See by what multitudes the striving of his Spirit 
is resisted, the pleadings of his mercy rejected, and the 
entreaties of his crucified Son are poured forth in vain. 
In short, who can look over our favoured land, and con- 
template our many and our precious blessings, and our 
many and appalling sins, without being obliged to admit 
that we are indeed an ungrateful and guilty people, and 
have abundant reason to apprehend the fierce vengeance 
of our God. 

But, I remember with joy and with hope, that we are 
this day assembled, with millions of our fellow-citizens 
in every part of the country, by the advice of our pre- 
sent Chief Magistrate, and of the Church of Christ to 
which we belong, to prostrate our hearts before the 
throne of divine compassion, and in humility and peni- 
tence to confess our sins, and implore His forgiveness 
and His grace. We are this day, as a nation, in the 
position of the returning prodigal, again seeking our 
Father's face, and imploring his pardon and his love. 
We are acknowledging that He is upon the throne, 
and bowing before Him, who has promised a free for- 



44 

giveness to the truly penitent, and a favourable audience 
to the prayer of faith. 

If the solemn purposes of this day, therefore, are an- 
swered in us, and the blessings which we implore from 
heaven are to be enjoyed by us, we must, with sincerity 
of spirit, humble ourselves before God. 

We are in danger, on occasions like this, of casting 
our eyes around us and fixing them on the gross and 
prevailing sins of the land, or the faults and the iniquities 
of others, without turning them inward upon our own 
hearts, and to the character of our own lives. But 
however this may form a part of our present duty, that 
in Christian charity we may remember our fellow sinners 
in fervent supplications at the throne of grace, yet our 
first and most important work is with ourselves. Let 
us inquire, then, whether we have not borne a part, at 
least, in some of the offences which expose us, as a na- 
tion, to the displeasure of God, and which have led Him 
already, in some measure, to visit us with stripes. 
Have we not participated in some, at least, of the few 
sins which have been specified? Have we not, by our 
example, exerted an influence adverse to that righteous- 
ness which exalteth a nation, and have we not withheld 
our personal efforts, and our sincere and persevering 
prayers, from those around us, and from our common 
country ? Have we, to the extent of our means and ob- 
hgations, been as " the light of the world and the salt of 
the earth V Are we not, therefore, both by sins com- 
mitted and duties neglected, personally guilty before 
God ? Truly, then, if we would ofl!er acceptable prayer 
this day, either for ourselves or our country, it becomes 
us to humble ourselves in the dust before the searching 



45 

eyes of God, to acknowledge and mourn over our sins, 
and in the spirit of true penitence to renounce them, 
imploring divine aid that we may henceforth live more 
useful and holy lives. 

It becomes us, also, here in the immediate presence 
of our God, if sincerely humble and penitent, to deter- 
mine, in reliance upon his grace, hereafter to be more 
faithful and diligent in the employment of all the means 
with which .He has entrusted us, to extend the know- 
ledge of His truth and promote the cause of righteous- 
ness throughout our land. 

These services are intended, and if truly rendered, 
are adapted to produce a happy and permanent in- 
fluence. Whenever we approach God in prayer, it is 
not merely that we may, for the time, enjoy the sweet 
comforts of communion with Him, but that we may 
also obtain his guidance and protection; and that with 
a wisdom and strength drawn down from the skies, we 
may go forth to the various trials and duties of life. 
The sincerity of our present services, therefore, is to 
be measured, not so much by our present feelings, as by 
their spiritual and future effects. If, when months have 
elapsed, you find yourselves more heavenly-minded and 
more faithful in the service of God, then may you con- 
clude that your approach to Him, this day, was sincere, 
and that He hath fulfilled his promise, in " giving grace 
to the humble," and in reviving the hearts of the con- 
trite. 

If we would truly observe this day, it becomes us also 
devoutly to offer our prayers to God for our rulers, and 
for the peace and welfare of our beloved land. 

While we are permitted to rejoice in our humiliation, 



46 

by beholding the nation that we love bowing, as with 
one heart and voice, before her long neglected God, let 
us not lose sight of our own individual relation to this 
vast multitude, or allow our own responsibility to be 
forgotten in the imposing and sublime scene which we 
behold. Rather should it inspire in us, individually, a 
spirit of more earnest and persevering supplication, and 
a deep solicitude that our hearts may be in harmony 
with these services, and that our petitions, going up 
with the millions that are now ascending, may be of- 
fered in humble faith, and accepted in heaven. Should 
this spirit prevail in all our assembhes, and this genuine 
devotion reign in every heart, who can tell what judg- 
ments may be averted from us by the services of this 
day, or what rich and overflowing blessings the prayers 
which shall ascend from our country to heaven, may 
call down in return from heaven upon our country. It 
is a question which the light of eternity only can settle, 
whether we are more indebted for the liberties we en- 
joy to those deeds of valour achieved by our immortal 
Washington in the field of conflict, or to those fervent 
prayers which ascended from his honest heart in the 
solitude of the forest. May God grant, my hearers, 
that if there is deficiency any where this day at a throne 
of grace, it may not be found in any of you. And if 
humble, fervent, and effectual prayers, shall this day 
prevail, and bring down blessings on our land and on 
the world, may God grant that those prayers shall as- 
cend from your hearts ; and may that righteousness 
which not only exalteth a nation, but, above all, which 
purifies and elevates the immortal soul, shine forth in 
your lives on earth, and adorn your spirits in heaven ! 



LEJa12 



